Former SEC QB ‘not sold’ on Arch Manning hype despite being odds-on favorite to win Heisman Trophy

Before crowning Texas quarterback and 2025 Heisman frontrunner Arch Manning as college football’s next great quarterback, a bigger sample size is needed, according to former Georgia signal-caller Aaron Murray. The SEC’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns warned this week the hype surrounding Manning entering his first season as the Longhorns’ starter needs to be scaled back a bit.

Manning made three early-season appearances last fall, including a pair of starts following an injury to Quinn Ewers. As a redshirt freshman, Manning completed 50 of 72 passes for 806 yards and 10 total touchdowns.

“I am not sold like so many other people are that this guy is going to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, that he’s just going to be unbelievable,” Murray said this week on SiriusXM’s College Sports Channel with Dari Nowkhah. “That he’s going to be the next coming of Peyton and Eli, but that’s mobile. If you are so good, and everyone has you projected as the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft come 2026, why in the hell are you not playing above a seventh-round quarterback?”

Murray said Manning “doesn’t scream first-round talent” after watching his film and kept coming back to Ewers — the Longhorns’ 2024 starter — keeping his spot over the former five-star and top-ranked player in the 2023 recruiting cycle.

Manning is projected as No. 1 overall pick in one of CBS Sports’ latest 2026 NFL mocks and has been power-rated as a top-tier quarterbacks in various rankings entering the new campaign. DraftKings sportsbook has Manning as the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy (+700).

“If Steve Sarkisian knows what he’s doing and he knows how good their roster is, which I’ve talked to a lot of coaches and a lot of different teams and I asked them,…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/former-sec-qb-not-sold-on-arch-manning-hype-despite-being-odds-on-favorite-to-win-heisman-trophy/

Author : Brad Crawford

Publish date : 2025-05-24 14:26:00

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